Call this number: 1-866-632-6057
Just call it. Really. Just do it. You call, and something amazing happens. You call, and the National Education Association through some sort of technomagical stuff I will simply never understand and never want to will connect you with someone who has the power of granting a child’s most cherished dream.
But you have to call: 1-866-632-6057
“Take me instead. They’re just babies.”
That was the prayer of those babies’ teacher, Anna Canaday. When the Oklahoma tornado hit Plaza Towers Elementary School, she and her colleague, Jessica Simonds, tried to get the kindergartners to shelter. There was no time. She shielded her babies with her body, saving them when a black Ford blew into the school hallway and fell on top of her. When rescuers removed the car, they found the two teachers badly hurt. The children were under them had minor scratches.
Anna was not alone in a spontaneous combustion of courage. So many others acted with no thought of their own safety – they only thought of their babies. They calmed frightened children so that they were able to march them into closets and bathrooms and under desks. They hugged them and comforted them. They loved them.
Welcome to National Teacher Appreciation Week. I looked under my pillow to see if the Tooth Fairy left me something. Nope. Checked the fireplace to see if Santa had been there? Zip. Maybe a piñata filled with sweet surprises? Nada.
Ok. Maybe we didn’t ask. You don’t get what you wish for. You’ve got to let people know what you want. We did that. We asked teachers all over the country what they wanted, so jot this down so you know what to leave under the tree for next year.
1. They want people to trust them. Teachers want to be held to high standards (which has nothing whatsoever to do with a standardized test.) They want the responsibility and the authority to collaborate with their colleagues and design instruction that interests their students and nurtures the whole child, mind, body and character. (more…)
On Wednesday, April 10, tens of Thousands of community, labor and immigrant rights supporters and immigrant families converged on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, urging Congress to pass common sense Immigration Reform in 2013 that includes a clear and direct path to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Educators from across the country were there to support their students and millions of aspiring Americans who contribute daily to our nation.
Lily led educators who came to take a stand for their students and their families.
Check out some great photos from the rally and what people were saying on social media! (more…)
NEA Today News Lesson Plans
